Introduction Prospects Of Root And Tuber Crops In .

Prospects of root and tuber cropsin northeastern region of IndiaIntroductionThe North-Eastern region comprising of states of ArunachalPradesh, Assam, Manipur , Meghalaya, Mizoram,, Nagaland,Sikkim & TripuraK.M.Bujarbaruah,K.M.Bujarbaruah, R.K. Yadav,Yadav, L.C.De andS.K.SanwalICAR research Complex for NEH Region,UmiamUmiam-793103, Meghalaya,Meghalaya, IndiaIntroduction The tribals of this region arealready in the habit ofgrowing the crops liketapioca,colocasiaanddioscorea in the jhum orshifting cultivation fields.Sweet potato and colocasiaare grown considerably notonly in the hills but also inthe plains of Assam andTripura.Introduction Most of the tuber crops like sweet potato,colocasia, tapioca, dioscorea are grown asmixed crop with ginger, chilli, brinjal, beansetc. Organic by dfault.1

Diversity of tuber crops in Northeasternregion The region is considered to be the richest reservoir of genetic variabilityof tuber crops i.e. colocasia, dioscorea etc. Considerable diversity hasbeen reported in several states In root crops radish is grown commercially in hilly area and small roundto long and white to red fleshed are found.Carrot, beetroot and turnipare also becoming popular now a day due to change in food habitamong tribals. Alocasia (Alocasia macrorrhiza) occurs in wild in humid tracts beingmore common. Much diversity occurs in shoot/leaf thickness, shape,colour & size of corm. However in colocasia (Colocasia esculenta) andxanthosoma (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) wild types vary in leaf size,petiole length etc. and possess both green and pigmented forms. Morevariability in respect of Kalla Kachu, Ban Kachu, Ahu-Kachu, DukhKachu, Mukhi, Panch Mukhi, Man Kachu, Jal Kachu, etc. In sweet potato mainly two types are available in theregion i.e. red and white. In tapioca both sweet and bitter types are available. In Dioscorea about 28 species and 25 varieties have beenreported from NE region mainly in the Garo hills (Sharmaand Hore, 1995). Major species found in the region are D.alata, D. esculenta, D. bulbifera, D. pentaphylla, D.hamiltonii, D. cylindrical, D. sativa, D. oppositifolia and D.deltoidea, D. floribunda etc. Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus companulatus) iswidely grown in Tripura and Meghalaya. There are certain non-traditional tuber crops like, is), Sohphlong (Flemingia vestita synMaughania vestita) and Vigna vexillata which produceedible under ground tubers2

Status of root and tuber crops inNE Region The productivity of tuber crops in this region is 5.6tonnes/hectare, which is far below the nationalproductivity of 15.45 tonnes/hectare (excluding potato). Crop wise sweet potato has maximum acreage in theregion followed by cassava and colocasia. The area, production and productivity in all northeasternstates are not available because the cultivation of thesetuber crops are limited to kitchen/backyard in mixedcropping 18.69-264.36681.925.281335520640.515.45TripuraA Area in thousand hectare, P Production in thousand tonnes, Y Yield in t/haStateAssamSweet ghalaya 1.856.110.110.968.64APYTotaltubercropsTuber crop varieties identified/recommended fordifferent northeastern statesRadish (Raphanus sativus)LocationBasar,PradeshVarietyArunachal Japanese WhitePusa HimaniYield (t/ha)49.644.8Barapani, Meghalaya Meghalaya LocalPusa ChetkiandJapanese WhiteSikkimPusa Himani66.833.238.644.2Tripura25.3023.90Pusa ChetkiJapanese White3

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)Turnip (Brassica rapa)LocationBasar,PradeshVarietyYield (t/ha)Arunachal Pusa ChandrimaPusa Swarnima47.631.6Barapani, Meghalaya Pusa Chandrima45.0PlaceVarietyYield (t/ha)Basar,Arunachal NantesPradeshPusa sa MeghaliYield (t/ha)24.3420.8619.00Barapani,MeghalayaSree 3525.3023.90Carrot (Daucus carota)LocationVarietyBasar, Arunachal 71-OP-219Pradesh71-OP-217H-633Colocasia (Colocasia esculenta)PlaceVarietyYield (t/ha)Basar,Arunachal -2TripuraACC-293TR Local23.221.64

Cassava (Manihot esculenta)PlaceVarietyBarapani,MeghalayaH-165Sree VijayaH-312Basar,Arunachal H-312PradeshH-2304Yield 9.536.05

Prospect in North eastern regionStrength Soil and climatic conditions are highly favourable fordifferent tuber crops. Rich biodiversity of tuber crops in the region. Tuber crops are already integral part of food of tribals ofthe region. These crops requiers less care and can be grown onmarginal land. Complex diverse and risk prone (CDR agriculture). Scope for organic productionWeaknesses or Problems of TuberCrops Vegetative propagation is probably the mostimportant single limitation. Non-availability and high cost of quality plantingmaterials. It requires more labours for handling . Digging on hill slopes causes heavy soilerosion. Tuber crops are generally consumed by tribalsor poor people,therefore, policy maker as wellresearcher do not give much attention.6

Production constraints Germplasm conservation for root and tubercrops is difficult because of heavy dependenceon vegetative propagation and non-availability ofplanting material of improved varieties. In case of colocasia disease like Phytophthorablight and corm borer insect, in cassava viruses,however in sweet potato weevil and rat etc.Opportunities in tuber crops in theregion Huge genetic diversity could be used for creating thegene bank (field and invitro), collection, conservation andutilization of tuber crops would benefit the farmers of theregion. Root and tuber crops play vital role in human nutrition,livelihood for rural people for employment generationand income generation. In other way in overcominginsurgency which is prevalent in the region due tounemployment.Constraints in human/animal diet Low protein content in most of the tuber crops. Presence of cynogenic glycosides in cassava, whichon hydrilysis yields HCN Presence of calcium oxalate in colocasia andamorphophallus Presence of trypsin inhibitor in sweet potato, whichreduces the protein digestibility in mixed feed.Processing constraints No industry for making sago, alcohol, chips, flour, etc. ofcassava in NE Region. No industry for starch extraction in tuber crops in NERegion. There are lot of ITK’s (Indigenous Technical Knowledge)viz. preference of tuber crops in tribal folks, food habitsand techniques to reduce acridity, extension of shelf lifeof yams by applying the ash at the cut ends. Further, these crops are mainly grown as inter crops incoconut, areca nut, fruit orchards and integrated farmingsystem as well as mixed crop with maize, ginger,turmeric, chilli, French bean (pole type) etc There is ample opportunities for exploring opportunitiesfor export of tuber crops in the bordering countries likeChina,Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar.7

Strategies for commercialization Identification of short duration, high yieldingvarieties of sweet potato suitable for intercropping.Dual purpose with high tuber yield sweet potatovarieties like Sree Bhadra and Sonipet-2 needsto be commercialized especially in jhum(shifting cultivation) areas.Introduction of β carotene rich varieties insweet potato for overcoming malnutrition oftribals.Standardization of cassava, sweet potato andtaro as feed concentrate along with goodsupplements for pig, poultry, fish etc. as tuber aswell as leaves are already fed by tribals in theregion. There is also need to prepare, silo fromleaves, vines/stem of these tuber crops.Mixed/inter cropping of tuber crops with legumevegetables like French been (pole type) andcowpea should be advocated.Need more research work on standardization ofpackage of practices for cultivation in differentinter/mixed cropping systems or farmingsystems.There is need for standardization of post harvesthandling & processing Mass multiplication and commercialization ofhigh yielding and moderately resistant toPhytophthora blight varieties of colocasianamely ML-1, ML-2 having low calcium oxalatecontent.Mass multiplication and commercialization ofGajendra variety of AmorphophallusIntroduction of non-bitter and sweet typecassava varieties with low HCN content.Identification of yam varieties with highdiosgenin content for industrial uses.There is need to establish processing unit formanufacturing of chips, flour etc. in cassavaand extraction of starch from cassava &diosgenin from yam.Conclusion The high nutritional qualities indicate that thecultivation and consumption of these crops maybe helpful in overcoming the nutritionaldeficiencies predominant in many rural areas ofthe region. In the present context of rapid increase ofpopulation and consequent shortage of foodgrains, collection and utilization of various types oftuber crops are considered very essential. There is need for post harvest management andvalue addition for exploitation of these tuber cropsprovided processing units are installed.8

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Status of root and tuber crops in NE Region The productivity of tuber crops in this region is 5.6 tonnes/hectare, which is far below the national productivity of 15.45 tonnes/hectare (excluding potato). Crop wise sweet potato has maximum acreage in the